Almost 20% of PayPal Users Have Used App to Trade Bitcoin, Mizuho Says
About 65% of users would use bitcoin as a currency at PayPal's 28 million merchants.
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:36 a.m. UTC
Nearly one-fifth of PayPal (PYPL) users have already traded bitcoin using the PayPal app, according to a report published Tuesday by Mizuho Securities and obtained by CoinDesk.
- Bitcoin exuberance boosts user engagement, the survey found, with bitcoin traders reporting more than three times higher usage frequency compared with non-bitcoin traders. They also held larger cash balances, the survey found.
- "About 50% of PayPal bitcoin traders reported increased usage of the PayPal app after beginning to trade bitcoin," the survey found. "This compares with just 9% who reported reduced engagement."
- But converting non-bitcoin traders into cryptocurrency users is a challenge for PayPal, the survey found. Only 8% of non-bitcoin traders said they would plan to trade the leading cryptocurrency in the future on PayPal's app while 42% said they "don't know yet," according to Mizuho.
- Citing the results of the survey, the firm raised its stock trading target on PayPal to $290 per share, up from the prior target of $270. In recent trading, shares of PayPal were up about 2.37% to $219.20. Mizuho maintained its "buy" rating on the payments giant.
UPDATE (Nov. 2, 01:50 UTC): Added number of users surveyed by Mizuho to the first bullet point.